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Wednesday, 30 November 2011

BASIC HEDGEHOG CARE

HOUSING:

A metal or plastic cage (like those made for guinea pigs or ferrets) works great, or a 20 gallon or larger aquarium. Large plastic storage containers also work very well as a hedgehog home. Make sure that the cage has at least 2 square feet of floor space, and that the cage bottom and sides have no wire grates that little hedgehog feet can fall through and get hurt on, or get stuck. Clean the cage at least once a week, and odor won't be a problem.

Hedgehogs like to have a hiding place or cover to sleep under. Providing such a hiding place will reduce nervousness. Large half logs, a kleenex box with a hole cut in the side, plastic bowls, or even a hedgehog sized cloth bag will work well.

You will want to place your hedgehog's cage in a warm area of the house. Hedgehogs need to be kept in a room with a temperature of 70F to 85F. If a hedgehog gets too cold it will attempt to go into hibernation. Heating pads can work well in the winter, but make sure that it doesn't cover the entire cage, so that your hedgehog can escape the heat if he starts to get too hot. Be careful using heating pads, as hedgies who have difficulty moving can easily be burned by them.

Unless you are attempting to breed hedgehogs, keep males and females separated. If a female has babies while there are other hedgehogs in the cage, it is likely to cause her stress and either she or the other hedgehogs are likely to eat the babies. Also, hedgehogs can get pregnant when they are as young as 8 weeks old, but this is not healthy for them. A female hedgehog should not be bred until she is at least 6 months old.

In the wild, hedgehogs are solitary animals. In captivity, some hedgehogs will accept (or even crave) the companionship of other hedgehogs, but don't necessarily assume this is the case. Hedgehogs can have lethal roommate disputes, so if you decide to try to house two hedgehogs together, be sure to observe them closely (or at least be within earshot to separate them in case of fights) for at least the first 24 to 48 hours. Hedgehogs can emit a bloodcurdling scream when upset or hurt, but they can also get into fairly quiet tussles, so be careful.

Example :

BEDDING:

You can use a wide variety of beddings for your hedgehog. Cloth liners, newspaper, recycled paper products and aspen have been recommended by many. A little warning about wood beddings, they have been known to carry mite eggs which could hatch and infest your new pet, wood beddings also can become lodged in sensitive areas of your hedgehog. Be certain to inspect your hedgehog daily for redness or swellings.

TOYS:

Hedgehogs need lots of exercise, as they tend to become obese with inactivity (who doesn't? ;). A large wheel (11" in diameter or so) is recommended. Be sure that the running surface of the wheel is solid, so that the hedgie is not at risk for slipping and breaking legs. You can find a listing of hedgehog wheels on the internet at http://www.mihog.org. Wheels made for rodents with metal bars should in no case be used, as a broken leg may result. Many owners report that their hedgehogs enjoy anything that they can push or manipulate. Examples of toys that owners have reported their hedgehog enjoying are: toilet paper tubes, brightly colored plastic toy trucks, cat balls, and various stuffed animals.

DIET:

Diet is an area where there is considerable controversy. We still don't know exactly what a hedgehog needs, but there have been preliminary studies at the Bronx Zoo. Information presented at the 1998 Go Hog Wild Hedgehog Show and Seminar indicated that hedgies need a diet that has a good amount of protein and is low in fat. A fiber content of approximately 15% (preferably from chitin, but hedgehogs can utilize fiber from plant sources, too) is optimal. At this time, no single food fully meets the optimal nutritional requirement for hedgehogs. Many of the hedgehog foods on the market do a pretty good job of meeting most of the needs, but a good quality commercial cat food didn't seem much off the mark, either, according to the statistics given in the presentation. Due to the lack of knowledge veterinarians and owners will agree that a hedgehog should be fed a mixture of foods supplemented by insects, fruits, vegetables and cooked meats.

There are now a number of good hedgehog foods on the market. Some examples of good hedgehog foods are Insectivore Fare, Select Diet, Pretty Pets, 8n1, L'Avian, and others. The use of Vitacraft hedgehog food is very strongly discouraged, as it appears to have been crafted for use with the much larger European breed of hedgehogs, and contains some choking hazards for the smaller African hedgehogs.

HANDLING:

The more you handle your hedgehog, the more it will get accustomed to you.

At first, your hedgehog may be scared. It may ball up or puff air and click its tongue to scare away any potential predator, including you. Approach your hedgehog slowly and quietly to gain its trust. Pick up your hedgehog from underneath to avoid the quills. You shouldn't need gloves to pick it up, even if it is scared, since you can slide your fingers underneath to distribute the weight. If you are afraid of being pricked, then take a pair of gloves and get them smelling like you (tuck them under your pillow for a couple of nights, or put them in your shirt for a while) so the hedgie will associate your smell with being picked up.

Hedgehogs deserve the love, attention and affection that any pet deserves. They may not be cuddly as a kitten, but with interaction you will discover they have personalities at least as interesting, if not more.

HEDGEHOGS ON THE NET:

There are several active hedgehog mailing list available at egroups.com. Hedgehog_help is a very large group of owners consisting of new owners, experienced breeders, and rescues, and is a good place to turn first for help in caring for your hedgehog. Additional groups exist devoted to hedgehog caretakers and their interests.

A search on the word 'hedgehog' in any search engine will turn up many different sources of information, some good, some bad. As we learn more and more about our spiny friends, older information may be found to be incorrect. Newer sources should contain updated information.

For those hedgehog owners located in Michigan looking for advice on caring for their little companions, visit http://www.mihog.org for information on hedgie friendly vets, places to buy food and supplies, and much, much more.

ONE LAST NOTE:

Don't be surprised if your hedgie starts shedding a lot of quills when it is about 8 to 12 weeks of age. This is a normal process, and is known as "quilling." The hedgehog is simply shedding baby spines and you should be able to see new adults spines pushing through the skin. To be on the safe side, though, you may want to check for mites or fleas. Signs of mites include crustiness around the quills and seriously dry looking skin. Both mites and fleas can be treated effectively with Revolution drops, available from your vet. When adolescent hedgies are "quilling" they may be somewhat grumpy, but should return to normal temperament once the quills are in.

Tuesday, 29 November 2011

The red golden pheasant is the name of a colorful game bird bred in captivity. In the wild, it is known as the golden pheasant, or Chrysolophus pictus. According to "Game Bird and Conservationists' Gazette," George Washington bred these birds at Mt. Vernon and was the first well-known American to raise them. Originally from China, you can easily raise and breed red golden pheasants at home. They are hardy birds and the males have full golden crests, scarlet breasts and long spotted tails. These distinctively plumed birds are easy to care for even for beginners.

Male

Female

Other Pheasant
Male Ring - Necked Pheasant

Female Ring - Necked Pheasant

Silver Pheasant Male

Silver Pheasant Female

Place a wire rabbit cage in a warm, draft-free area of your home such as a bathroom. This will house your baby red golden pheasant chicks until they are old enough to live outside. A rabbit cage approximately 3 feet long is suitable for up to four chicks. You can use large box instead.

2

Line the cage with three layers of paper towels that will need to be changed at least once a day to keep the cage clean. Place a waterer with water and a feeder with crumbled game bird starter in the cage. Clamp your light with the red light bulb in one corner of the cage, so the chicks can move away or closer to the heat. Keep the light on 24 hours a day until they have feathers.

3

Place your few-days-old chicks inside your cage. You can purchase unsexed chicks from local breeders or use an online website such as eFowl or McMurray Hatchery. Some breeders only sell adult male and female pairs. Change the water and replace the food when needed.

4

Place the pheasants outside in an aviary after three weeks if the weather is warm, such as in the middle of spring. For four birds, an aviary about 6-by-6-feet should suffice. Red golden pheasants are not good flyers but they need space to roam. If you let them out in your garden you do not need as large an aviary.

5

Switch to adult game bird layer pellet food once they are four months old. Feed the birds vegetable and fruit scraps, like peels and dandelions. Be sure they always have fresh water, especially in the summer.

6

Check the sex of your chicks. By the time they are about four months old, you will notice that the females are mostly brown and the males have the colorful plumage. You must have at least one male in order to breed your birds.

7

Place nesting boxes in your pheasants' aviary. After eight months, check for eggs. They may lay them in other areas, but you can teach them to lay in the nesting box by placing a dummy egg inside.

8

Put the laid eggs into an incubator that automatically turns. Set the temperature to 99.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The incubation period is 21 days and on the last day place the eggs on a wire mesh hatching basket inside the incubator. Once the chick has hatched, keep it in the hatcher for eight hours.

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Common Bronzewings are
medium-sized, heavily built pigeons. The male has a yellow-white forehead and
pink breast. Both sexes have a clear white line below and around the eye and
patches of green, blue and red in the wing, characteristic of all bronzewings.
The Common Bronzewing is a cautious pigeon, and rarely allows close approach.
If startled, it flies away with a clatter, keeping low to the ground while
moving in a steady, direct manner. Young Common Bronzewings are duller and
browner than the adults. The metallic wing patch is absent or not easily seen.

Similar species

Common Bronzewings can
be distinguished from the similar Brush Bronzewing,P. elegans, by their pinkish-grey breast, light brown
nape and back, and pale throat (rather than grey breast and chestnut nape, back
and throat).

Brush Bronzewing,P. elegans

Where
does it live?

Distribution

Common Bronzewings are
one of the most plentiful and commonly seen pigeons in Australia.

Habitat

Common Bronzewings are
found in almost every habitat type, with the exception of the most barren areas
and densest rainforests. Common Bronzewings are normally seen alone, in pairs
or in small flocks, and are rarely found far from water.

Breeding

Common Bronzewings
build an untidy nest of sticks and twigs. It is normally placed low down in a
tree or bush, but may be up to 20 m above the ground. The creamy-white eggs are
incubated by both parents. Both adults also share the care of the young birds,
which are born naked and helpless and are completely dependent on their
parents. Bronzewings, like other pigeons, secrete a special milk-like substance
from their crop, which is fed to the young chicks.

Male

Female

Nest..

Chick

Feeding

The Common Bronzewing
feeds on seeds and other vegetable matter. The birds feed on the ground and in
small parties. These small groups need to drink frequently, and visit
waterholes during either the day or night.

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Hedgehog Hibernation

To cope with the lack of food during cold winters, hedgehog will go into hibernation, lowering thier body temperature and heart and respiration rates to minimize their energy needs. Their metabolic rate can become 100 times slower and they may even stop breathing for up to 2 hours. Hibernating hedgehog live off the extra body fat accumulated in late summer, but also rouse themselves for a day or so every couple of weeks to forage and defecate.

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